Apologetics by another name

“Apologetics” is a difficult word. Most people have never heard of it and have no idea what it means. It sounds like something that involves saying “I’m sorry.” For others, it connotes something that only concerns academics. To avoid these concerns, Brian Auten has come up with a helpful list of alternative expressions that conveys the purview and purpose of apologetics without using the word itself:

defending Christianity

the defense of the faith

thinking through the issues

being thoughtful about your convictions

being thoughtful about the faith

critically examining Christian truth

contending for the faith

answering the tough questions

examining worldviews

studying Christian defenses

handling tough issues

answering skeptics

discussing your convictions

pre-evangelism

persuasive evangelism

showing Christianity is true

giving good answers

asking the big questions

evaluating the evidence

answering questions; questioning answers

making the case for faith

defending and confirming the Gospel

showing why Christianity is true

reasoning with unbelievers

searching for truth

Good communication often involves the use of a fitting word. Perhaps you’ll find that people are more open to the field of apologetics and its usefulness in evangelism if you package it using one or more of the descriptions above.